By: Joey Partridge | Follow Me On Twitter @joey_partridge
The 2018 Boston Bruins draft picks have officially been prospects for two complete seasons now, most still with the Boston Bruins. Where are they in their development now? Let’s take a look and see where they are.
Axel Andersson
Axel Andersson was the Bruins’ second-round selection in 2018. The Bruins did not have a first-round pick in this draft as that draft pick belonged to the New York Rangers that they acquired in the Rick Nash deal. The Bruins were high on the defenseman and selected him out of Sweden. Andersson is no longer a member of the Bruins system. He was sent to Anaheim and the 2020 first-round pick and David Backes in exchange for Ondrej Kase. He had a decent season in the QMJHL last season with the Moncton Wildcats, putting up 24 points in 43 games. He is currently having a poor start to his 2020-21 season in Sweden with only 2 assists in 17 games. Time will tell if the Bruins will miss Andersson, but with a loaded right-side lead by Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, it doesn’t look like that will be the case.
Jakub Lauko
Jakub Lauko was the Bruin’s third-round selection in 2018. This is by far my favorite pick of the draft as he wasn’t supposed to still be on the board, and his skill fell into Boston’s lap. The Czech Republic native had a solid season in the QMJHL with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in 2018-19, putting up 41 points in 44 games. He also added two points in five games for his native Czech Republic in the World Junior Tournament. In the 2019-20 season, he made the jump to professional hockey to play for the Providence Bruins, putting up nine points in 22 games.
He was loaned to the Czech Republic team for the World Junior Tournament before suffering an MCL injury in the first game. That was certainly a setback in his development, but he currently has four points in seven games playing over in the Czech Republic as he looks to have a big season for the Providence Bruins when the AHL starts back up. He has elite level speed and can really provide a spark on offense.
Curtis Hall
Curtis Hall was the Bruins’ fourth-round pick in 2018, and they might have found a hidden gem. Hall has been a monster at Yale University in the NCAA and even made the United States World Junior Team last season. In his sophomore season at Yale, he put up 27 points in 28 games, barely missing out on the point-per-game mark, which is very impressive in the NCAA. The Ivy League has canceled their season due to COVID-19, so Hall is currently looking for a place to play. It will be interesting to see if the Bruins sign him to an entry-level contract to play in Providence or take another route to continue his development.
Dustyn McFaul
Dustyn McFaul was the Bruins sixth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He is a big defenseman coming in at 6’2. In his freshman year at Clarkson University, he put up seven points in 31 games. The Bruins selected McFaul because they like his size, his compete level on the puck, and how he can move the puck. They acknowledged that he still needs to fill into his 6’2 frame, but the Bruins may have a solid depth defenseman here.
Pavel Shen
Pavel Shen was the Bruins final selection coming in the seventh round. Shen comes from Russia where he put up solid numbers in the MHL. He transitioned to professional hockey last season putting up nine points in 35 games for the Providence Bruins. Shen has awhile to go in terms of making the NHL as there are a lot of prospects ahead of him, but it can never hurt taking a young forward with skill with your last pick in a draft.
Leave a Reply